Volume 3, Issue 1 (3-2021)                   JAD 2021, 3(1): 110-119 | Back to browse issues page


XML Print


Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:

Deuti K, Aengals R, Raha S, Debnath S, Sathiyaselvam P, Ganesh S R. On further specimens of the Pit viper Trimeresurus erythrurus (Cantor, 1839) (Squamata: Viperidae), with description of a topotype and range extension to the Godavari Basin, peninsular India. JAD 2021; 3 (1) :110-119
URL: http://jad.lu.ac.ir/article-1-115-en.html
1- Zoological Survey of India, Herpetology Division, 27 JL Nehru Road, Kolkata 700016, West Bengal, India , kaushikdeuti@gmail.com
2- Zoological Survey of India, Sunderbans Field Research Center, Canning 743329, West Bengal, India
3- Zoological Survey of India, Herpetology Division, 27 JL Nehru Road, Kolkata 700016, West Bengal, India
4- Bombay Natural History Society, Hornbill House, Shaheed Bhagat Singh Marg, Mumbai 400023, India
5- Chennai Snake Park, Rajbhavan post, Chennai 600022, Tamil Nadu, India
Abstract:   (7593 Views)
We report on a topotypical specimen of the spot-tailed pit viper Trimeresurus erythrurus recorded from Sunderbans in India and a distant, southerly, range extension from Kakinada mangroves, based on preserved (n= 1, seen in 2019) and live uncollected (n= 2; seen in 2014) specimens, respectively. The specimens (n= 3) share the following characteristics: verdant green dorsum, yellow iris, white ventrolateral stripes in males, 23 midbody scale rows, 161–172 ventrals, 61–76 subcaudals, and reddish tail tip. Drawing on the published records, its apparent rarity within its type locality and lack of records from the Circar Coast of India, our study significantly adds to the knowledge of the distribution and morphology of this species. Being a medically important venomous snake, its presence in the Godavari mangrove basin calls for wider dissemination of this information among medical practitioners, in addition to fundamental researchers like academics and herpetologists.
Full-Text [PDF 694 kb]   (3320 Downloads)    
Type of Study: Original Research Article | Subject: Species Diversity
Received: 2020/12/26 | Accepted: 2021/01/27 | Published: 2021/07/17

References
1. Ahmed, M. F., Das, A. and Dutta, S. K. (2009). Amphibians and reptiles of northeast India: A photographic guide. Aaranyak, Guwahati, India. 184 pp.
2. Ahsan, M. F., Haidar, I. K. A. and Rahman, M. M. (2015). Status and diversity of snakes (Reptilia: Squamata: Serpentes) at the Chittagong University Campus in Chittagong, Bangladesh. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 7 (14): 8159–8166. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2431.7.14.8159-8166 [DOI]
3. Basu, S. K. and Cetzal-Ix, W. (2018). Traditional honey collectors in the Sunderbans region and their impact on the local mangrove ecosystem and biodiversity: a case study with particular reference to human–animal conflict. Biodiversity, 19 (3–4): 248–254. https://doi.org/10.1080/14888386.2018.1508365 [DOI]
4. Bauer, A. M. (2015). Patrick Russell's snakes and their role as type specimens. Hamadryad, 37 (1–2): 18–65.
5. Bauer, A. M., Vogel, G. and Campbell, P. D. (2015). A preliminary consideration of the dry snake skin specimens of Patrick Russell. Hamadryad, 37 (1–2): 73–84.
6. Cantor, T. E. (1839). Spicilegium Serpentium Indicorum. Part I. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 1839: 31–34.
7. Chen, Z., Yu, J., Vogel, G., Shi, S., Song, Z., Tang, Y., Yang, J., Ding, L. and Chen, C. (2020). A New Pit Viper of the Genus Trimeresurus (Lacépède, 1804) (Squamata: Viperidae) from Southwest China. Zootaxa, 4768 (1): 112–128. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4768.1.7 [DOI]
8. Daniel, J. C. (2002). The book of Indian reptiles and amphibians. Oxford Univiversity Press, Bombay Natural History Society, India. 248 pp.
9. Das, A., Saikia, U., Murthy, B. H. C. K., Dey, S. and Dutta, S. K. (2009). A herpetofaunal inventory of Barail Wildlife Sanctuary and adjacent regions, Assam, north-eastern India. Hamadryad, 34 (1): 117–134.
10. Das, I. (2002). A photographic guide to snakes and other reptiles of India. New Holland Publishers, U.K. 144 pp.
11. David, P., Vidal, N. and Pauwels, O. S. G. (2001). A morphological study of Stejneger's pitviper Trimeresurus stejnegeri (Serpentes, Viperidae, Crotalinae), with the description of a new species from Thailand. Russian Journal of Herpetology, 8 (3): 205–222.
12. David, P., Vogel, G. and Dubois, A. (2011). On the need to follow rigorously the Rules of the Code for the subsequent designation of a nucleospecies (type species) for a nominal genus which lacked one: the case of the nominal genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Reptilia: Squamata: Viperidae). Zootaxa, 2992 (1): 1–51.
13. David, P., Vogel, G., Pauwels, O. S. G. and Vidal, N. (2002). Description of a new species of the genus Trimeresurus from Thailand, related to Trimeresurus stejnegeri Schmidt, 1925 (Serpentes, Crotalidae). Natural History Journal of Chulalongkorn University, 2 (1): 5–19. https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/tnh/article/view/102858
14. https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/tnh/article/view/102858
15. Gumprecht, A., Tillack, F., Orlov, N. L., Captain, A. and Ryabow, S. (2004). Asian pit-vipers. Geitje Books, Berlin, 368 pp.
16. Hakim, J., Trageser, S. J., Ghose, A., Rashid, S. M. A. and Rahman, S. C. (2020). Amphibians and reptiles from Lawachara National Park in Bangladesh. Check List, 16 (5): 1239–1268. https://doi.org/10.15560/16.5.1239 [DOI]
17. Leviton, A. E., Wogan, G. O. U., Koo, M. S., Zug, G. R., Lucas, R. S. and Vindum, J. V. (2003). The dangerously venomous snakes of Myanmar. Illustrated key and checklist. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 54 (24): 407–462.
18. Mahony, S., Hasan, Md. K., Kabir, Md. M., Ahmed, M. and Hossain, Md. K. (2009). A catalogue of amphibians and reptiles in the collection of Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Hamadryad, 34 (1): 80–94.
19. Mirza, Z. A., Bhosale, H. S., Phansalkar, P. U., Sawant, M., Gowande, G. G. and Patel, H. (2020). A new species of green pit vipers of the genus Trimeresurus Lacépède, 1804 (Reptilia, Serpentes, Viperidae) from western Arunachal Pradesh, India. Zoosystematics and Evolution, 96 (1): 123–138. https://doi.org/10.3897/zse.96.48431 [DOI]
20. Pe. T., Myint, A. A. and Aung, N. N. (2000). Green pit viper (Trimeresurus erythrurus) bites in Myanmar: clinical features, venom antigen levels and development of natural venom antibodies. Myanmar Health Sciences Research Journal, 12 (1/3), 1–6.
21. Russell, P. (1796). An account of Indian serpents, collected on the coast of Coromandel; containing descriptions and drawings of each species; together with experiments and remarks on their several poisons. Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. Shakespeare-Press; for George Nicol, London, U.K. 90 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.114003 [DOI]
22. Smith, M. A. (1943). The fauna of British India, Ceylon and Burma, including the whole of the Indo-Chinese sub-region. Reptilia and Amphibia. Volume 3 (Serpentes). Taylor and Francis, London, U.K. 583 pp.
23. Uetz, P., Freed, P. and Hošek, J. (Eds.) (2021) The Reptile Database, http://www.reptile-database.org (Accessed in 4 January 2021).
24. Underwood, G. (1946). Reptiles of Cocanada. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 46 (4): 613–628.
25. Vogel, G. (2006). Venomous Snakes of Asia/Giftschlangen Asiens. Terralog Series, Volume 14. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main, Germany. 148 pp.
26. Wallach, V., Williams, K. L. and Boundy, J. (2014). Snakes of the world: A catalogue of living and extinct species. First edition. CRC Press, USA. 1237 pp. https://doi.org/10.1201/b16901 [DOI]
27. Whitaker, R. and Captain, A. (2004). Snakes of India: the field guide. Draco Books, India. 550 pp.

Add your comments about this article : Your username or Email:
CAPTCHA

Send email to the article author


Rights and permissions
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

  | Journal of Animal Diversity

Designed & Developed by : Yektaweb